A letter from a reader about the location of a new long-term care facility in Stratford, which was discussed at a municipal election candidate's debate.
Stratford city council is at it again or still. Council is making commitments on our behalf again without engaging the public. This was never in any plan presented to us! It may or may not be a good idea, but it is the how they moved forward with the idea, more than the what the idea is!
(City councillor) Martin Ritsma confirmed the announcement at the (Stratford) mayoral debate as a victory that the new 160-bed long term care home for People Care will be built at The Grand Trunk Hub. He also thanked (city councillor) Kathy Vassilakos for her work on this. (The City of Stratford) have been in talks negotiating, for us and without our input, with peopleCare to change locations from the current outskirts of the city to The Hub in downtown Stratford. We should not be at this stage of negotiating anything! The mission of being an open, transparent council is just a myth and not real!
Thanks, but no thanks!
This sounds like a disaster! Let's unpack this. A long-term care home is not suitable in this location. First and foremost, an income source with taxes is what is needed. We already have a non-revenue based YMCA and a university (University of Waterloo Stratford School of Interaction and Design) on this property. Where is the revenue going to come from to pay for this multi-million dollar hub? How do we recoup the $28 million already invested in this site with a long-term facility? It would sterilize the site from being developed into something forward-thinking and revenue generating. How will you get 160 beds and other buildings, for a continuum of care in such a small area? Building up, of course. The old peopleCare building had problems daily, time-wise, moving clients for dining three times a day. My aunt chose to only have two meals daily due to this. What happens in an emergency like a fire or rail disaster when all the clients have to be evacuated quickly? What will happen as the baby boomers no longer need such a large area? This has not been well thought out from where I stand, in the dark.
A slower-paced environment is more suitable for this demographic. More land, not less would be needed to include the other buildings for a continuum of care, like at the Spruce Lodge location. Are you really thinking of the residents at the home? Or is this a big bang finish that the council wants to make as many are not returning? Yes, more mobile seniors needing care might be suitable for this location, but the idea is to keep them altogether for support, companionship and efficiency to serve them better, not the council's wishes. Where would the family and friends coming from a distance be able to park to visit? Wouldn't making this more difficult decrease much valued visits?
Who thought this was a good idea? When would it be completed? It is needed now and we have been asking long enough! Where this goes is very important.
Jane Marie Mitchell, Stratford
Response from Coun. Martin Ritsma: In the debate there was a question regarding the huge need for housing in our community . In my response I discussed that the city core would be a great location for higher density housing. I also stated that a press release had come out that day stating that there was going to be a 160 long-term care bed development in Stratford . I also shared that in the press release it indicated that there were two possible locations in Stratford and one was the former Grand Truck shops.
